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2006 – ROBBIE BOVA – SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY

Robbie BovaRobbie Jean Bova (formerly Robbie Jean Larson) was a three-time All-America (1995-97) and the 1995 Player of the Year while at Slippery Rock University. A team captain in both 1996 and 1997, she helped lead the Rock to a record 100 wins and only eight losses during her collegiate career.  Following a freshman year in which she led the team to a national runner-up finish, as a sophomore in 1995 she earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors as Slippery Rock captured the national title to become the first, and still only, non-California team to win the national crown.

She concluded her varsity career by helping the team to fourth place in 1996 and sixth place in 1997 at the National Championship Tournament.

One of the Rock’s top scorers, Bova posted an incredible 264 goals and was named to the United States National Team, attending several U. S. Olympic Festivals.  She earned a place in the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.

“I think Robbie is one of the best athletes to have ever played the game. She was a dominant player and one of the keys to Slippery Rock’s National Championship in 1995 — a feat that has not been matched since by any conference school,” noted Dan Sharadin, Commissioner of the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

In addition, she played on the US Women’s Junior National Team for six years (1990-96) and has competed in numerous international games, including the Junior Pan-American Championships (gold) and the Junior World Championships (bronze). She also competed with the national team at events in Havana, Cuba, in 1995 and Montreal, Canada, in 1996.

Appointed an assistant coach at Arizona State University in August 2006, Bova first jumped into coaching in 1999 as the founder and head coach for the Albuquerque Water Polo and Swim Team, a program that has produced many athletes currently competing on the collegiate level in both disciplines. One year after founding the Albuquerque program, she also founded the New Mexico High School Water Polo league and later competed in collegiate club play at the University of New Mexico.  Most recently, Bova served one year as the head coach of the swimming and water polo programs at Duke City Aquatics before coming to Tempe.

While working with both programs, Bova took on zone team responsibilities as well, beginning in March of 2001 when she was named the head coach of the Women’s Youth Water Polo team for the Mountain Zone, leading the team for six seasons. Then, in March of 2006, she assumed duties as the head coach of the Women’s Cadet Water Polo Team for the Mountain Zone. For her efforts, she was selected by USA Water Polo as its Women’s Mountain Zone Developmental Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In those same three years, Bova also served as a coach at the US Women’s National Team Top 40 Festival.

Bova and her husband, Mike, currently reside in Tempe.

Collegiate Water Polo Association